


Ghosts In Hiding

by bullshit_butler



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: ETHAN ISNT THO AHAHA, Ghosts, NB!Ethan, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PEIP - Freeform, This is a big one my boys, all the teens are friends, john is sadly dead, ye he non binary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:06:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28363629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bullshit_butler/pseuds/bullshit_butler
Summary: Hatchetfield isn’t safe. It never has been. What will happen when a groups of 6 inexperienced teens try to save the world? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Relationships: Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Deb/Alice Woodward, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins, Xander Lee/John McNamara
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1: Adomania

**Author's Note:**

> So this is something that I’ve been writing and it’s basically like two years after the apotheosis and the group of six teens try to fight some ghosts

Adomania: The sense that the future is coming too quickly 

Two years. Two fucking years. To some, it felt like more. Others, it felt like less. For most, it was a mix of the two. Things changed. There was no doubt about that. Hatchetfield was a hollow shell of what it once was and along with that, most people were too. Sure, people were cured after the Apotheosis. That ended. But something else started right as the dust cleared.

People were looking forward to the holidays. People wanted a break from danger. But, what started as a mellow holiday weekend turned into a full on war. There was nothing peaceful about it. People died. No one was going to sugar coat it anymore. People were in danger. Constant danger. It was something that people couldn’t seem to escape. No matter who you were, where you were from, or what you did. Unless you were a part of it, you weren’t safe.

Hatchetfield had been long forgotten by the world. They just stopped trying. Eventually, though, they were going to be forced to watch and listen. Sinister things had already happened in Hatchetfield and something much more sinister was about to unfold.


	2. Chapter 2: Susurrus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Squad™️ goes to Lex’s house

Susurrus: A whispering or rustling sound 

“Ooh is the infamous Lex Foster getting emotional” Deb teased Lex as the group of six teenagers walked back from their night out at the movies. Because so much was destroyed on Black Friday, P.E.I.P. relocated a lot of families. A lot of them were now under constant protection. Some of them, some being the group of six, was temporarily reallocated onto the P.E.I.P. base with their family. 

“No, that movie was just sad. I mean the dog died in the end and that always makes people sad. And it’s Foster-Houston now so shut the fuck up” Lex snapped back with a smirk as she stepped forward to grab Ethan’s hand. 

“It was sad. If it’s any consolation, Lex, I cried too” Alice piped up from next to Deb.

“Yeah, but Ali, you cry at the SPCA commercials also” Ethan turned around to the rest of the teens.

“Ok, but we can agree that Lex was definitely sniffling by the end of the movie, right?” Grace chuckled.

“Shut the fuck up Grace” Lex scowled as the group walked through the door of the Foster-Houston-Barnes residence. Inside was pretty calm. The newly turned teens, Hannah and Tim, were playing some new video game that Lex had gotten Tim for his birthday about 2 months before. Tom was putting some macaroni and cheese into bowls in the kitchen while Becky was setting the table. Their household wasn’t a very formal one. They had dinner together every night but it wasn’t something that was made a big deal of. They didn’t really have bedtimes, it was really more like when they were tired. But, Tom and Becky made sure they all went to school and ate proper meals and did their homework. They would get mad when Lex stayed out long past her curfew, but then it was quickly forgotten the next day. They let them had freedom, but they also cared for them like parents should. 

“Are you all staying for dinner?” Tom asked the group of teens as he went to get more bowls.

“No thanks, Mr. Houston, my dad wants me back soon” Grace said.

“Yeah, my dad also wants me home soon. He invited Deb over for dinner today, as well so we should probably get going” Alice smiled.

“Ethan, Oliver, I assume you guys want to stay?” Tom asked the cousins. Truth be told, Ethan and Oliver didn’t have very good home lives. Their family was rarely home and the decent family members had long moved out.

“Yeah, if that’s all right” Ethan smiled as they grabbed Lex’s hand once again.

“Anytime” Tom smiled warmly at the teens. Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew throughout the house, lifting up all the curtains and temporarily shutting off all power. The power then flickered back on, as if it never happened. 

“Well, that was weird” Ethan turned to the rest of the people in the room.

“No shit, Sherlock” Lex smirked at her theyfriend and laid her head on their shoulder.

All throughout that night, faint whispering sounds were heard. No body could actually pinpoint where they were coming from, just a guess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit
> 
> For clearance, they were all 17 in BF(except Oliver who was 16) which took place in 2018 and they’re all now 19(except Oliver ofc who is 18) and this is 2020 without Corona(I had to finagle their ages and the time a little to make this more reasonable so just work with me here) and they’re all in senior year(the older 5 are redoing it cuz of the wiggly and apotheosis stuff and Oliver is just smart enough to to not redo a grade)


	3. Chapter 3: Énouement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Énouement: the bittersweet feeling of arriving in the future, seeing how things turn out, and not being able to tell your past self

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Xander experiences sad boi hours

“Xander, I know you miss John, but it’s been two years. You have to come back. Everyone here misses you” Amanda Schaffer, Xander’s best friend since they were in college, pleaded with him over the phone.

“I know, Mandy. It’s just hard to be there when he’s gone.” Xander said, trying his best not to cry.

“I know it is, it’s hard for me to even walk past his office some days. But, he would want you to move on.”

“I know he would, it’s just hard to even think about it sometimes. I wish I could just go back in time and then my past self to do everything we wanted to before it was too late.” Xander let the tears fall slowly from his face.

“I know, but we can’t. We have to grin and bear it. People rely on us to protect the country. It’s kinda fucked up but that’s the way it is. We have to be strong for each other, Xander. We have to be strong for John.”

“I’ll see you Monday, Mandy”

“Bye, Xander”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mhm


	4. Chapter 4: Bad Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My friend told me to put this as the chapter title so here’s this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ghost hunting teens go grr

𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙱𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜+𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚝

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚛 𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚛

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚢𝚎 𝚢

𝙾𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎: 𝙲𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎? 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎. :(

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝙸'𝚖 𝚍𝚢𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚌 𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚙𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚝 𝚞𝚙 

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: 𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚎𝚜, 𝙻𝚎𝚡, 𝙸 𝚊𝚖. 𝚆𝚑𝚢?

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚍𝚘𝚙𝚎 I 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚞𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚢 𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝚢𝚎 𝙸'𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴 

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴 

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: 𝙶𝚞𝚢𝚜......

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴 

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴 

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴 

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴 

𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚢: 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃

𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚢: 𝙸𝚖 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚍𝚜 

𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚢: 𝚁𝚞𝚍𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚖 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎. 𝚂𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐?

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝.

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚝𝚛𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚎 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚞 𝚒𝚗

𝙾𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎: 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎.

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚍𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎

“What’s poppin, babe. What do ya need.” Ethan asked as they sat down at the booth with the groups drinks. They were seated in a slightly beat up booth at the Starlight Diner. The diner, which used to be called the Lakeside Diner, was renamed in honor of the late Starlight Theater after it was destroyed in the apotheosis. It was the groups favorite hangout spot and the staff had made an unspoken rule to keep the corner booth empty for the teens.

“So I was thinking” Lex started 

“That’s a shocker. Did it hurt?” Deb mocked her from across the table

“Fuck you but I actually realized some really deep shit. So yknow how the other day there was a lot of wind a shit? And the night before that, the whole towns power shut off for a couple seconds and then it was back on. Like that’s not normal. And that’s only the first thing. So two years ago was the whole Black Friday wiggly piece of shit and two years before that it was the apotheosis. Shit keeps popping up after two years. That means some paranormal shit could pop up any second now and it’s getting closer and closer to Halloween. This is spooky season my dudes. I also overheard Xander and Schaffer talking about some stuff the other day and they seemed really worried. I mean it could just be the whole John situation but i dunno man.” Lex said, looking around at the teens. All of their faces grew more and more concerned as she continued explaining.

“So you think something is gonna happen sometime soon?” Alice questioned, keeping her voice down so no one could hear, even though there was barely anyone every in there.

“Yeah, it only makes sense. Now we just need to figure out what it is. We could go to Xander and Schaffer but I severely doubt that they’ll give us any sort of information. And suggestions guys?” 

“We could hack in. Into their system I mean. There’s bound to be a million hidden files somewhere in there.” Oliver suggested, sipping on his now lukewarm soda.

“That could work. We just need something powerful enough. There’s probably gonna be a shit ton of barriers on those things, aren’t there?” Ethan spoke up, resting their head on their hand.

“Yeah I mean they’re the government. They can’t be having people break into their databases all the time” Deb said, now intently listening.

“How about tomorrow, we all go to my house and we can try and get somewhere. Everyone bring some form of a computer if you can so we have a couple of options. If your parents ask, just tell them we’ll be doing homework or studying or just something.” Grace suggested, looking over to everyone for confirmation.

“Ok, this is good. I got to go now but I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Lex stood up and there was a chorus of byes was heard as they all went there separate ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lex rly said spoopy season supremacy


	5. Chapter 5:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenopsia: The eerie, forlorn atmosphere of a place that is usually bustling with people bit is now abandoned and quiet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really just a lot of them texting but it’s fine

𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙱𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜+𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚝

𝙾𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎: 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 ‟𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛‟

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 ‟𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛‟'𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 ‟𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎‟

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚆𝚑𝚢, 𝙴𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗? 𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚢?

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚋𝚌 I 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚖𝚢 𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚎

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚞𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿.𝙴.𝙸.𝙿. 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎.

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚞𝚝

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕.......

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝙼𝚛. 𝙻𝚎𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚕 𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚑

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚋𝚛𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝙰𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝙸 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖. 𝚆𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗. 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝙸'𝚖 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚕. 𝙸𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚌𝚢 

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚘 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: I 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗'𝚝 

𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚢: 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝙽𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝙸

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚟𝚟 𝚏𝚞𝚗

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝 

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚍𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚛 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚘

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚗𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚗𝚘 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚍𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚋 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜 

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜??????

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚢𝚎 𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚌𝚞𝚣 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚞𝚝 I 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚛𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚘 𝚒𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚣𝚣𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙿𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂

𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚢: 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚎𝚝 

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎.

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚔 𝚍𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚝 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜???

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝚢𝚎𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜 

Lex pushed her cart along the aisles of their local grocery store. The only thing she could think as she mindlessly grazed the shelves for the only decent brand of potato chips was how empty Hatchetfield seemed. Sure, there was actually a decent amount of people. Maybe a few thousand. It was nothing close to the almost 900 thousand people who lived in other cities like San Francisco, but it was home. After the apotheosis, some people left. A couple hundred at most. But, after Wiggly and Black Friday, a lot more people left. Closer to a thousand this time. It was so surreal. Hatchetfield used to seem like this big bustling place but now it was all eerie and abandoned. Nothing seemed right anymore. Hopefully, things would get better. Lex could only hope. The only thing anyone could ever do was hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter things will pick up dw


	6. Chapter 6: Selcouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Selcouth: unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvelous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have completely given up on trying to match the chapter titles to the actual events taking place in the chapter so sorry about that lol it’s just rly hard to find words to match them

𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙱𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜+𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚝

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚈𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳𝚈 𝚃𝙾 𝙱𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙺 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙾 𝚂𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝙶𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁𝙽𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙳𝙰𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙰𝚂𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙾𝙳𝙰𝚈

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝙵𝚄𝙲𝙺 𝚈𝙴𝚂

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚈𝙴𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂𝚂

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎.

𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚢: 𝙸 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: 𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏?

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝙽𝙾𝙿𝙴

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: 𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛.

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚢𝚎𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚍𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚌 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎

The group of six arrived at Grace’s house all within ten minutes, pretty much just letting themselves in. They all gathered in Grace’s room, a little packed in as there were six of them.

“So, what’s the first step?” Ethan asked as they sat down on the floor next to Alice.

"Well, we need to find a weakness in one of their databases. It might be a little hard, as they are a heavily guarded government base and they'll have really advanced tech, but even something small can get us in." Oliver said, all while typing something into his computer. The other teenagers all crowded around the small screen which was propped up on Grace's simple wooden desk.

"Have you done this before? Seems like you know some shit." Lex joked.

"No, nothing like this. Though I have done enough coding over the years to figure out where there is and isn't a weakness."

"Anything yet then?" Deb asked, still sitting on the floor, snacking on something someone else brought.

"Nothing yet. Though, it looks like we're getting close. Our best bet would be a section that no one uses almost ever. That give a good chance for there’ll to be lesser restrictions and blockers."

"What does a weakness look like?" Alice asked 

"It can look like anything really. It will, however, look slightly different then something that is stronger. There will be a different sort of format. Sometimes they can even look-" Oliver stopped talking abruptly as he leaned into the computer screen. "I found one! It's small but I think I can get into something with this." 

The next 10 minutes were spent with a lot of Ethan pacing, Deb and Lex trying to catch popcorn in their mouths, and Grace and Alice doing whatever they could to keep everyone sane. 

"Anything yet, Oli?" Ethan asked

"I think. I might've found an old P.E.I.P. login from an old member or someone. I just have to try logging in with it." Oliver typed in the user and password, revealing many files.

"Woah" Alice breathed

"Who's is it?" Grace asked

"Uh, it say J. Mac. Thats it." Oliver leaned back into the chair.

"Holy shit. That's John's old account. From before he, yknow." Lex looked a little more closely at the screen before moving back again.

"Well, what dos it say?" Deb asked, sounding slightly inpatient.

"It's mostly just old case files. Oh, heres something about paranormal and extraterrestrial patterns and beings. It says "About every two or three years, a new paranormal being lands in a part of the world. These things repeat themselves every thousand years. The past two times, these landings have been in Hatchetfeild, USA. Another is to be expected there in the year 2020. However, no one knows what will be landing. People are advised to stay inside until government officials tell them otherwise." That's it. Nothing else." Oliver finished reading. A collective sigh was let out, as it seemed everyone was holding in their breaths the whole time.

“Ghosts?” Deb questioned, now looking slightly concerned.

“I don’t know about ghosts, but something is definitely coming. And quick. All we can do is be prepared.” Lex looked around at the group of inexperienced teens. No one was ready. No one could be. This was something they had never faced before. All they could do was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit


	7. Chapter 7: Eumoirous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eumoirous: Happiness due to being honest and wholesome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kinda just a filler lol but we get some good old Tom as a dad

“Lex! Hannah! Tim! Dinner!” Tom called all the kids from their kitchen. Tonight it would just be Tom and the kids, as Becky was called into work suddenly. Once again, they were eating macaroni and cheese. It was a very common dinner in their household, being the one thing everyone knew how to make.

“Lemme guess, mac and cheese?” Lex said before she had seen what was in the bowls.

“Ay you guessed it. Someone get her a trophy.” Tom teased as they all sat down.

“What can I say, I’m just that amazing.” Lex leaned back in her chair, smirking slightly.

“How was school today?” Tom asked to no one in particular after they’d eaten a little. He was no longer working in education as he had gotten hired by P.E.I.P. as a maintenance and construction manager. 

“It was ok. We played baseball in gym today and Deb and I were on the same team and smoked Ethan and Alice and Grace’s team. How about you? How was work or whatever you guys do all day while we’re gone?”

“It was pretty good. Though, we all got interrogated or some shit because someone decided to break into one of our databases so all our stuff got inspected. They didn’t find anyone, though.”

“Oh, really. How did they get in? Isn’t it super hard to get into that stuff? Yknow, with it being a government database and everything.”

“You would think. But they got it. Xander isn’t happy. It looks like he’s ready to kill whoever got in.”

“What did they get? Anything important?”

“I dunno. It seemed important though.” 

“I bet. Well, I have a little more homework to finish, so imma do that.”

“Ok, don’t take too long or there won’t be any ice cream left”

“I’ll keep that in mind”

𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙱𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜+𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚝

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝙹𝚅𝙹𝙳𝙺𝙵𝙽𝙲𝙺𝙽𝙲 𝚈𝙰𝙻𝙻

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝚢𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚛

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚈𝚎𝚜?

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: 𝚑𝚖𝚖

𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚢: 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚃𝚘𝚖 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝙿𝙴𝙸𝙿 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚌 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚇𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝙿𝙸𝚂𝚂𝙴𝙳

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝙸 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜. 𝚆𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚠.

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚋 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏 𝚠𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚠 

𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 ‟𝙶𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜+𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛‟

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚊𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎. 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗, 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝. 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝.

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎 

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚎.

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃𝚂 𝙱𝙴𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝙾𝙸𝙽𝚃 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚜𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚒𝚗???

𝙳𝚎𝙱𝚘𝚁𝚊𝙷: 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙶𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎

𝙰𝚕𝚒-𝙲𝚊𝚝: 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜...

𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚢: 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛?????

𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙾𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎: 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚎

𝙻𝚎𝚡 𝙻𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛: 𝙰𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈𝚈

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m super behind on updating this on here so I’m just gonna post all the chapters I have


	8. Chapter 8: Toska

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toska: A full ache of the soul, a suck pining, a spiritual anguish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS GHOSTS

“Bro did you see that ollie that I did? It was so fucking cool” Ethan hopped onto their beat up old skateboard.

“Yes, Ethan, that moment when you fell off your board and almost broke your nose was utterly amazing” Oliver said in a deadpan voice.

“Ok maybe that failed but what about my kick flip?” 

“You are currently walking with a limp. I’ll let you answer that one on your own”

“I hate you so much”

“I had a feeling”

“Ok, but we can all agree that we are all much worse at skateboarding than the fucking nine year olds” Deb chuckled.

“Yeah that’s very true. None of us actually kn-“ Lex’s comment was cut short as they all saw something very abnormal. A very slightly transparent woman was walking down the sidewalk, looking completely normal other than the fact that there was a trail of smoke or steam or something that followed her. You could almost see through her, but not really. It was like looking through sea glass, not quite being able to see to the other side, edges rounded and smooth, having been through too much. 

The teens stood in disbelief as they saw the glass-like woman walk along the crosswalk like she was still alive.

“HEY! Move your asses. I’m in a fucking hurry” A man spat at them. When the group turned around, he had a scowl growing on his face.

“Sorry, sir” Alice quickly pulled her friends aside into the nearby coffee shop. Some beat up old place called Beanies. No one really went there anymore.

“Did you guys fucking see that?” Lex whisper-yelled as they sat down in the corner booth.

“Yeah, what the fuck was that? Deb put her arm around Alice’s shoulders.

“I dunno, man. It looked like a ghost or some shit.”

“Well, what do we do?” Ethan questioned

“SUIT UP MOTHER FUCKERS. WE’RE GOING GHOST HUNTING” Lex slammed her hands on the table, standing up abruptly. Oliver put his head in his hands as Lex smirked mischievously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun times my dudes


	9. Chapter 9: Sempiternal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sempiternal: everlasting, eternal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh this is the chapter where we see some people

“Lex! Have you seen the salt? I swear we just bought two tubs the other day!” Becky called from the kitchen, head in cabinet.

“No, I don’t think so. Did Hannah and Tim use it for their science project? And didn’t we give some to Emma and Paul?” Lex recalled, even though she knew full well she had taken both tubs and put them in her backpack to take with her when she goes ‘ghost hunting’ with her friends later.

“Your right. I guess we didn’t buy as much as I thought we did. Oh well, we need to go back to the store anyway. It’s expensive feeding three growing teenagers plus your friends.” Becky said, not knowing that Lex was using her fatigue to her advantage. It wasn’t something she did very often, but it was convenient when needed.

“I guess it is. Also is it chill if I stay at Deb’s tonight? We wanna do a whole movie night thing and she just got a new controller for her Nintendo Switch and we wanna play Animal Crossing.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Tom’s held up at work today because of the break in thing so I assume he’ll be gone for a little bit. Do you need any snacks?”

“Nah. I’ll probably stop by the corner store on my way to pick up some sodas and chips.”

“Ok, stay safe. Love you”

“Love you too. Say bye to Tim and Tom and Hannah for me”

“Will do”

“Knock knock, b𝗂tch” Lex shouted sarcastically as she knocked on the door of Deb’s room, letting herself in. Lex knew her parents weren’t home, as they very rarely were. 

“The f𝗎ck do you want?” Deb snapped back, equally as sarcastic.

“I want to ghost hunt but the rest of our friends are slow as𝗌𝖾𝗌”

“Hey, be nice we’re both of us are dating one of those”

“True”

“So, note to self, the edge of the city is not as cool as the movies make it seem” Alice chuckled while she clicked on her flashlight.

“Yeah, well according to Buzzfeed Unsolved, this is the best time to ghost hunt. So it’s either this or nothing at all” Oliver said, clicking on his own flashlight. It was just after 8 and the sun set at around 7:45. They had initially planned to use their phone flashlights but they soon realized those wouldn't be nearly enough if they were going as long as they planned to. Luckily, Grace, having been a girl scout until her Sophomore year, was prepared with many flashlights.

“Well, let’s hope we find something soon. It’s already super dark and I’d rather get this done sooner so we don’t have to do this a lot.” Grace pointed out as she zipped up her second layer of hoodies. Michigan in early October wasn’t exactly the Sahara Desert.

“Yeah I can’t keep lying to my parents. I mean even Becky knows I don’t like Deb enough to spend that much time at her house. Even with all of you guys.” Lex chuckled to herself.

“Wow I’m flattered.” Deb shot her a fake snarl.

“Does anyone happen to know any known ghost hunters?” Ethan commented as they kicked at the ground.

“Oh! Wait I just remembered something. It was in one of the John’s folders Xander gave me. It was a phone number to something but I know they have some smart people there and I think they know some sh𝗂𝗍 about the paranormal. I saved their number in my notes in case of anything” Lex piped up, just remembering.

“Well, call them.” 

“Ok, ok” Lex punched in the numbers, putting the call on speaker. The receiver picked up after two rings, his voice echoing slightly through the shallow forest.

‟𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝑴𝒆𝒈𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖?‟

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUN TIMEEEEEEEES


	10. Chapter 10: Psithurism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Psithurism: The sound of wind in the trees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s just a phone call it’s not that exciting

‟𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝑴𝒆𝒈𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖?‟ The receivers voice echoed.

“Uh, yeah, hi, this is Lex Foster-Houston of, uh, I guess of P.E.I.P.” Lex put the call on speaker so everyone else could hear.

“𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝑳𝒆𝒙 𝑭𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓-𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂 𝑭𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖?”

“Yeah that’s me. Though, I’m Foster-Houston now. Got adopted. And no one calls me Alexandra. Just Lex”

“𝑶𝒌, 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅. 𝑿𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑺𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔. 𝑺𝒐, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑰 𝒅𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖?”

“Uh, this might seem a little weird coming from someone at P.E.I.P. but you you guys know anything about ghosts?” Deb chuckled beside Lex. “Shut the f𝗎ck up, Deb” Deb laughed some more, this time louder. “Sorry, my friends an as𝚜hole” Lex glared at Deb.

‟𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚. 𝑾𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑰𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉?‟

“Probably everything. We’re 19, we don’t know much to be honest. At least not about ghosts”

‟𝑶𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏. 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒐. 𝑰𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆?‟

“Just me probably. We don’t want our families or P.E.I.P. finding out about this.”

‟𝑶𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒘𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒕‟

“Thanks”

‟𝑨𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆‟ Lex’s screen went from the call screen to a picture of when Tom smashed Tim’s face in his birthday cake. Her home screen picture.

“Well, guess we should head back. I told Becky I would be at Deb’s all night so I guess we just head there?” Lex shut of her phone, pocketing it.

“Probably the best option. I also told my dad I would be at Deb’s all night. He was a little fishy at first but then i told him everyone would be there and he was fine.” Alice stood up from the large rock she had been sitting on.

“I men’s it’s not like anyone’s gonna be there anyway” Deb chuckled, wrapping her arm around around Alice’s waist comfortably.

“ONWARD MEN AND ETHAN” Lex shouted dramatically as the group made it out of the shallow forest and back into the ‘thick’ of the city while the wind whistled through the trees. Their ghost adventures were done for tonight but not in all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next will be much more exciting lol and longer


	11. Chapter 11: Vīvēscō

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vīvēscō: Come to life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS ONES LONGER LOL I LIKE THIS ONE also last one I have for rn

It had been about two days since they called the A.S.S. Lex got a text at around 7:30 at night saying that they were about an hour away. She got another text right before 9 saying they were parked right outside the city.

“GOING TO THE DINER WITH THE SQUAD!” Lex called on her way out the door, knowing no one would object and everyone was in their own rooms.

“OK, YOU KNOW THE DRILL. BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT!” Tom yelled back from somewhere in the house. 

“GOT IT!” Lex called as she closed the door. She made her way through the small ‘city’ towards the diner where the whole group decided to meet these people. 

“Oh, thank dead god your here I’ve been waiting here for fifteen fucking minutes it’s been so awkward” Deb commented as Lex walked up to the Diner. 

“Why didn’t you just go in?” Lex laughed, opening the door.

“Because, I don’t know these people. I’m not gonna go in there alone” Deb and Lex walked into the Diner and scanned their surroundings, looking for four people. They spotted them almost immediately. They looked too clean and put together to be in the Diner. Two men, one shorter and of a stockier looking build in a blue shirt and the other taller looking with slicked back hair and a black and red jacket. They were joined by two women, one of them with wavy red hair pulled into a tight ponytail wearing a purple turtleneck and the other in a short blonde bob with a red blouse. They couldn’t tell much from what they saw in the doorway.

“Wimp” Lex teased her as they walked over to the large corner booth that the adults were seated at. They approached the table slowly, not really sure what to do. Luckily, the man they had guessed what the same one as they talked to on the phone spotted them and greeted them with a warm smile.

“Hello, I’m Curt. We spoke on the phone” The man stood, holding out his hand. 

“Hey, I’m Lex. This is Deb. Her girlfriend, my partner, and our two other friends should be here soon enough. They just enjoy being very slow” Lex shook Curt’s hand, Deb following her actions. The bell signaling the entering of a new customer sounded just seconds after the shaking of hands. In walked Grace and Alice, both chatting away happily about whatever subject they had gotten to at that point. They quickly spotted the others and made their ways through the diner, weaving in and out of the tables. The bell rang again, this time revealing the Green cousins. They, too, walked over to the table, greeting everyone.

“I assume this is everyone?” Curt asked, still standing.

“Yep” Lex replied shortly, making a move to sit down on the opposite side of the booth. It was a little tight and they had to pull two more chairs around so everyone could fit, but it was better than spacing out. 

“So, introductions?” 

“Sure. As you already know, I’m Lex Foster-Houston. I’m 19. She/her pronouns please and thank you. I guess I work with P.E.I.P. but I don’t want them knowing about this. Oh, and I’m dating Ethan.” Lex gestured to her right, where Ethan was sitting.

“My turn?” Ethan asked, not really waiting for a response. “Welp, I’m Ethan Green. Also 19. I use they/them pronouns cuz I’m cool like that. Also sorta work for P.E.I.P and yeah that’s pretty much it” They gestured to Oliver go their right.

“I’m Oliver Green. 18. He/him preferably but you could also use they/them if you wanted. I’m Ethan’s cousin as well, god save me.” Oliver introduced himself quickly.

“Do you also work for P.E.I.P.?” The unidentified man said.

“Sorta. Fun times.” He nudged Grace to his right.

“I’m Grace Chastity. Pretty much the exact same as the others. I’m 19. She/her. Sorta work for P.E.I.P.” Grace said.

“I’m Alice Woodward. 19 as well. She/her pronouns for me and I also sorta work for P.E.I.P.” Alice said, looking at Deb to her right as a finisher.

“You already know my name is Deb Marcona. I use pretty much any pronouns. I’m not picky, though I do prefer she/her a little more. And same as everyone else, I sorta work for P.E.I.P.” Deb leaned back in her chair.

“What do you guys mean by you sorta work for them?” The woman with the blonde hair said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

“Well, no one really ever specifically told us that we were working there. It just kinda happened. We have passes and badges and sh𝗂t. Plus we all live on base. It was kinda unspoken, really.” Lex said, resuming her position of leader of the small group at the moment.

“Makes sense.” Curt said. “I assume we should also do introductions. I’m Curt Mega. I use he/him pronouns. I work for the American Secret Service. Have been for just over 20 years now. That’s pretty much it about me. Owen?” Curt gestured to his left to the other man, who they suspected was Owen.

“Yes, hello. I’m Owen Carvour, Curt’s husband. He/him as well. I don’t work for the American Secret Service, actually. I work for MI6 in London, though I live over here most of the time and my main work is international and I spend so much time at the A.S.S. that I might as well work there. Plus Curt’s boss likes me much more than him.” Owen said in his smooth British accent, nudging the red haired woman.

“Hello, I’m Tatiana. I use she/her pronouns. I also work for the A.S.S., but I’m much more badass.” The red haired woman, Tatiana, said shortly.

“Hello, my names Barb Lavernor. I’m married to Tati and I also work for the A.S.S., but I’m in the science department and not anything in field. Oh, and I use she/her pronouns.” 

“Oh, thank dead god were not doing business with heteros” Deb smirked, leaning back in her chair.

“Oh, my god, Deb, you can’t say that” Alice hit her on the arm.

“I mean she’s not wrong. I’m pretty sure I know a total of zero cishets in my life and I would prefer to keep it that way” Ethan chuckled, giving Deb a fist bump from across the table.

“Makes sense. I wouldn’t want that either.” Curt smirked. “So, whats the problem?” He asked, putting his arm around Owens slightly hunched shoulders due to the fact of him leaning on his elbows on the table. Everyone looked to Lex, as she was the one who had started the whole thing.

“So basically, as you might know, about four years ago, there was a sort of apocalypse thing. Pretty much everyone turned into these zombie motherfuckers. Ourselves included. Then yknow we got that cured so everything was just fuckin’ peachy again. Or at least as peachy as it can be when you live in good ol’ Hatchetfield, USA. So then about two years after that, this fucking wiggly b𝖺stard like corrupted a fuck ton of people so it was like the end of the world and stuff. Since it’s been about two years since then, I’ve had a sorta sneaking suspicion that some funky sh𝗂t is gonna go down soon. So then we did some illegal sh𝗂t and broke into the P.E.I.P. database and read some files that pretty much just confirmed my suspicions. We decided it would be best if we didn’t tell them. They’re restrictive enough to as it is. I remembered in one of Johns old files that Xander gave me that there was a highlighted phone number with some notes under it. I don’t remember what it said but yknow if it was in johns notes then it was probably pretty damn important so I saved it in my notes and now here we are.” 

“Damn, ok that’s a lot, but I think I have a plan”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOOOOOOO FUN SHIT also imma try to make the chapters longer now lol

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter one is nothing special but chapter two is where things get interesting


End file.
